Saints Hilary and Mungo
On this 13th day of January, in bleak midwinter, we celebrate two saints. The first, in the public calendar, is the great Saint Hilary...
Saint Marguerite Bourgeoys: What Canada Was, and May Be Again
On this January 12th here in Canada we celebrate Saint Marguerite Bourgeoys (1620-1700), founder of the Congregation of Notre-Dame, and the first official school...
The Ecstasy of Fernandez, Mariette and Teresa
We won't talk about the resurfaced book by Cardinal Fernandez, like some antedeluvian and postlapsarian creature out of the black lagoon. The current head...
Saint Paul the Hermit
Saint Paul of Thebes (+ 341) is traditionally considered the first hermit in the Catholic Church, if we don’t include John the Baptist, who...
Extraordinary Ordinary Time
With the feast of Christ’s Baptism yesterday, we enter back into what we now call ‘Ordinary Time’, perhaps an unfortunate term, – for no...
Living Our Baptism
A blessed feast of the Baptism of the Lord, which in the novus ordo normally falls on a Sunday, standing for the first Sunday...
Petit Brother André Bessette: The Miracle Worker of Montreal
On January 7th here in Canada we honour one of Canada’s most beloved saints, André Bessette (1845-1937), a humble lay-brother who went on to...
The Epiphany to Wise Men
A blessed and joyous Epiphany to all our readers, this twelfth day of Christmas, in theory, on January 6th, even if in Canada the...
Saint John Neumann, the Bishop Who Kept on Going
Today is the feast of Saint John Neumann - whom we should keep distinct from Saint John Henry Newman, the English Oratorian and fellow...
Mother Elizabeth Ann Seton: The First American-Born Saint
Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton (1774 - 1821) signifies what America was and, by the grace of God, with a dash of divine intervention, may...